Compaction of agricultural soils is a great concern to many farmers, since soil compaction may reduce plant growth. Soil is made of soil particles which normally pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled with pore spaces. Soil compaction occurs when soil particles are forced closer together so that pore space is reduced. Soil structure impacts the ability of soil to absorb and conduct water, nutrients and air necessary for plant root growth activity. Compaction of the soil may in some situations be permanent, while in other situations it may be possible to de-compacted the soil. However, de-compaction of soil is expensive in terms fuel and labour.
Agricultural vehicle traffic is a major cause of soil compaction, since agricultural vehicles are getting so heavy that they impose enormous downwards forces onto the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,837 discloses a tyre inflation system for use with an agricultural implement that is linked to a work vehicle for movement in the field. The inflation system comprises a processor. The processor determines, based on various factors including the soil condition and implement load, the proper inflation of the implement tyres. Adjustment of the inflation of the tyres only changes the contact pressure with a given amount. With large agricultural work vehicles it may be insufficient to just adjusting the inflation of the tyres in order to avoid damaging compaction of the soil.
Modern agricultural work vehicles may be equipped with a route planning systems assisting the farmer in selecting a work path through the field. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,574 discloses to input at least one field specific datum and at least one vehicle specific datum into a central computing unit to generate a work path over a field, which includes at least one optimization criterion for the work path. The patent discloses to avoid undesirable packing of the ground by avoiding multiple passes with heavy units. However with a sufficiently heavy agricultural work vehicle or during unfavourable soil conditions, a single pass may be sufficient to damage the soil.